Reverse Course
by gawilliams
Summary: What if Chakotay heard the conversation between Janeway and the Doctor at the beginning of Fair Haven and the Doctors somewhat tacit agreement with Janeway's views on protocol? Here's my take on what he would do.


What if Chakotay heard, accidentally in passing and unbeknown to Janeway or the Doctor, the Doctor's tacit validation of Janeway's view on having a relationship with a member of the crew during the discussion between her and the Doctor at the beginning of Fair Haven? How would he react?

Disclaimer: I don't own or profit from these character or franchise in any way. No Copyright infringement is intended.

_**Chakotay's Perspective**_

Chakotay was seething. He couldn't believe that all his efforts and seemingly near success was now in ruins because the Doctor had to stick his damn holographic nose into something the day before that he had no fucking business discussing. For months now he had been carefully, and seriously, rebuilding the close friendship with Kathryn back to what it had been during the time of their stay on New Earth. Oh, he'd been subtle, yet had the best of intentions, and he'd been seeing some real progress on that front.

He couldn't really blame the Doctor for being concerned about her. Chakotay had long had the same concerns. What he had a problem with was that the Doctor had reinforced her views to the point that Kathryn's categorical statement to the Doctor now had some serious backing. From the Chief Medical Officer no less! God dammit! Chakotay had once talked with Tuvok about the issue of protocol and the Vulcan had actually agreed with him about the whole subject. Tuvok had said that he viewed the protocols in question as suggestions only, and the circumstances Voyager found herself in certainly negated any such suggestions. Chakotay, though, had been too much of a gentleman to use that trump card to convince Kathryn that she should consider throwing her views out the airlock where they had belonged all along.

Kathryn's confidence had been shaken lately, though. She had taken to spending even longer hours alone, and the stress of how she insisted on commanding the ship was taking its toll. It was a given that someone, most likely the Doctor, would bring it up. But did he have to raise the specter of relationships? Did he have to agree with her with such finality? He didn't, but he had. Now Chakotay had to do some fast thinking and take action. It was time for the Angry Warrior to wake up from his rather pathetic hibernation and deal with this crisis, and for his Woman Warrior to get a dose of reality. First, though, he had to deal with the Doctor and his bullshit. No, that was second. First he had to see Paris. Then the Doctor.

"Tom," Chakotay said in a friendly voice as he placed an arm over the younger mans shoulder in the Mess Hall. No one was there to witness this short exchange.

Tom Paris gulped. He had heard the deceptive tone that Chakotay was using before. It usually spelled doom for whoever it was directed at. The man may have the patience of a saint and a heart of gold, but when he was roused, he was as dangerous as anyone Tom had ever heard of.

"Commander," he replied with as much confidence as he could muster. He mentally reviewed everything he'd done lately and could think of nothing that would land him in trouble with the Big Guy.

"I need you to do something for me," Chakotay said quietly.

Tom heard the distinct 'You will do this or else' in that statement.

"What's that?"

"I need you to put a monkey wrench in the holodecks for a couple of days so they are out of commission until I have a chance to finish a personal project," he told the hapless helm officer.

Tom gulped. He knew right away what was happening and he was sure he would be fried when the Captain found out. He wondered if his old cell in the brig was still waiting for him. There was no question that the Big Guy was hot under the collar about the Captain's visit to Fair Haven the day before and the long hours that she had spent with the holographic bartender Michael Sullivan. The shit was definitely going to hit the fan, and innocent little Tommy Paris was going to get splattered.

"I'll be lynched!" he squeaked. The crew loved Fair Haven! Besides Sandrine's it was his most popular holographic creation to date, and the damn thing had only been running for a day!

Chakotay leaned in close. "Do it, or I'll make sure you spend a lot of time as my sparring partner in the boxing ring with the safety protocols off," he told Paris with a definite growl in his voice.

Tom nodded glumly. At the very least he would be in serious shit with B'Elanna who would have to spend the time to fix whatever damage he did to the holodecks, but it was better than the alternative. Even B'Elanna was not willing to challenge Chakotay when the Big Guy was in a serious snit. She was the only one on the ship who actually stood a chance of defeating the man in hand to hand combat, and that wasn't a sure thing, either. It was more like 70/30 in the Big Guy's favor. "They'll be gummed up in half an hour," he promised.

"Good choice," Chakotay growled as he clapped Paris on the back. The Angry Warrior stood up and walked off as if nothing was out of the ordinary. One down, and two to go. Next up, the Doctor.

Chakotay breezed into Sickbay at a fast pace, clearly intent on his mission. He noticed that the facility was empty, which fit in with his plans quite well. The Doctor, he could see, was in his office working on some paperwork.

"Computer seal Sickbay and restrict authorization to my voice command, authorization Chakotay Pi 7 Gamma," he said with the same growl that had crept into his voice while talking to Paris. He'd already let Tuvok in on his overall plans, and, to his surprise, the stalwart Security Chief had agreed to assist him in any way. At least he didn't have to worry about security teams interrupting his conversations, especially the one with Kathryn.

"Commander?" the Doctor said indignantly as he stood and came out of the office, having heard what Chakotay did. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Sit down, shut up, and listen or I'll decompile your whole program," he snapped at the pompous hologram. He was pleased to see that the EMH instantly sat down on the chair in the examination room and shut up. Chakotay began pacing back and forth.

"First, if you ever speak to the Captain about relationships again I will personally remove all your personality subroutines and memories of a non-medical nature from the last five and a half years," he started in. "Second, if you ever validate anything she says about protocol and regulations making relationships with a member of the crew, _especially_ me, impossible, I will create a pain subroutine and inflict the most serious physical pain I can imagine on you. Third, if you ever mention to her about holograms being an alternative for 'companionship' of any sort, I will personally see to it that the only off duty 'companionship' you have is as a Sircasian slug in a separate holo matrix just for you. Finally, if she ever brings up the question of protocol like she did in a negative statement on relationships you will do your damnedest to convince her you were out of your head that one day and were completely wrong. Fuck that up and you won't have use of your holo emitter for as long as I live except in cases of injury requiring your presence. Have I made myself perfectly clear on this, Doctor?" he demanded. His voice had risen in volume and intensity during his tirade.

"It won't happen again, I swear," the Doctor said instantly. He'd heard the stories of how angry Chakotay could become when crossed in a serious way, and he certainly seemed deadly serious right now.

"Good," Chakotay patted him on the arm. "I also think that you need to cut out any counseling of the crew unless they actually approach you. You seem to have a flair for screwing things up at the worst possible moments. Agreed?"

The Doctor nodded vigorously. At this point he'd agree to anything, and diligently carry out any such agreement, to save his little holographic butt.

Chakotay leaned forward for one more warning, delivered in a low growl. "And if the Captain ever hears of this little conversation, I will ensure that you suffer all of the aforementioned consequences," he told the errant EMH.

"No one will ever hear of it," the Doctor responded promptly.

"See that they don't," Chakotay said as he ordered the security lockout for Sickbay and ordered the records of it erased. That made two. Now all that was left was the most important person to confront in all of this.

_**Kathryn's Perspective**_

Kathryn was not in a good mood. She was standing in her bedroom in a rather risqué piece of lingerie having been getting ready for her 'rendezvous' with her just reprogrammed holographic bartender friend, Michael Sullivan. The Doctor had soundly validated her views on protocol with his 'of course not' comment the day before, and she had decided to see about his suggestion of 'alternatives' that Tom's new holo program offered. With a little tinkering this afternoon while on her lunch break, she had altered the bartenders parameters to suit her own needs. If the guy was now very similar to Chakotay it didn't matter. If she couldn't have the real thing, then a close holographic approximation was the next best thing. Now, just as she was getting dressed up to have her illicit get together, Tom had signaled her that the holodecks were down for the next couple of days.

"That figures," she muttered as she pulled on her robe, not bothering to remove the lingerie. "I finally decide to have a sex life after going without for so damn long and then the holodeck is on the blink."

Now she was not only upset, but very aroused. She'd spent over an hour in the tub relaxing and preparing for her outing. Anyone who thought she just soaked during these marathon baths was seriously misinformed. The underwater jets weren't just for a relaxing back massage, after all. Three wonderful orgasms later and she was ready to have a delicious encounter with a man, or a hologram in this case.

This wasn't her first time with a hologram. She'd indulged a few times earlier in her career while a junior officer. The experiences had been physically satisfying, but somehow lacking. That didn't matter now, though. She just wanted to get seriously laid. Celibacy was not something that Kathryn Janeway had ever really practiced once she became sexually active in life, and the last five years of self imposed celibacy had been sexual torture in her opinion, especially considering that the virtual Adonis she really wanted was here on the ship and she saw him every day.

She walked out into the living room of her quarters after having put away the quaint dress that she had picked out for her visit to Fair Haven. Going to the replicator she ordered a glass of white wine. She may not be going to the holodeck for some much needed recreation, but that didn't mean she couldn't relax a bit. Keeping the lingerie on added a bit to that relaxation since it made her feel feminine for a change. The uniforms and standard undergarments were comfortable and practical, but hardly flattering to her, or any other womans, femininity. The satin robe enhanced the effect.

Taking a seat on the couch and leaning back, she let her mind wander. Just when did she last have sex, she wondered. She had been celibate during the entire time Voyager had been in the Delta Quadrant. Did she have sex with Mark just before she left Earth for Deep Space Nine to meet up with Voyager? Or was it sometime before that? She shook her head in frustration. If she couldn't remember that then she really did need to get laid. Not for the first time she cursed herself for being such a narrow, conservative tight ass when it came to protocol and regulations. In her own mind she knew damn well that a relationship with Chakotay would not damage the command structure in any way. Even if she lost sight of things for a bit, she knew that Chakotay never would let her shirk her responsibilities. He'd proven that time and again, even when she had been such an idiot like when she unilaterally tried to forge an alliance with the Borg against an enemy that turned out to be the better ally to have. Species 8472 may be dangerous, but they were only trying to destroy the Borg. But the regulations did exist and she felt honor bound to follow them.

The chimes of her quarters entrance sounded. She cursed the interruption of her thoughts. Now not only was she not going to get laid, she was also going to have her private time interrupted. Hopefully it wouldn't be something important. She was too keyed up to really concentrate on anything at the moment.

"Come in," she called out to the door mechanism. The doors opened and what she saw brought a gasp from her lips and a sudden rush of added arousal coursing through her body.

_**Chakotay's Perspective**_

After he had left the Doctor, Chakotay had went straight to his quarters. Once there he had checked the specific protocols and regulations once again to confirm what he already knew. Once reassured, he went into his bedroom and opened the closet. From it he took the outfit he had worn on New Earth the night he had told her the legend of the Angry Warrior. He had a choice of that or the leathers he had worn as a Maquis. He decided on the former as the latter would probably make her think he was about to mutiny. Granted, he was, just not in the way she would initially think.

He quickly made his way to her quarters next door once he knew she was out of the bathtub. He always knew she was in there since she usually engaged in some rather 'personal' activities of a sensual nature. Her moans of arousal and muffled screams of orgasm while bathing on New Earth were prominent in his memories of that time, in addition to how much he had fallen in love with her then. Reaching her door he rang the chime. He heard her call out to enter and he stepped through the opening door, letting it slide closed behind him. Her gasp at his appearance almost made him smile.

"Chakotay!" she said in a clearly shocked voice.

"We need to talk," he said without any preamble. He strode purposefully to her desk and computer terminal. He activated the console and tapped in a few commands.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kathryn said in a loud and now angry voice. Arousal or no, she was the Captain and this was her quarters.

Chakotay snapped up at the tone. "Come here and sit down," he said in his own very commanding tone.

Too shocked at his tone and actions, she wordlessly sat down in front of the terminal. She did manage to look up at him and glare.

"I would appreciate it if you would show me exactly where those so called protocols are which keep us from being together," he ordered sternly. "And no bullshit about what was said to us in Command School. I want to see them in writing from the regs."

"I don't have to justify myself to you," she hissed.

"Do it!" he said in as frighteningly stern a voice as she'd ever heard him use.

Thoughts of sending him to the brig for a very long time danced in her head as she did as she was told. She stabbed at the controls and scrolled through the regulations and protocols until she came to the specific ones she was so sure were there. A sudden stab of horror filled her mind as she continued scrolling and did not find the ones she was looking for. In fact the regulations said nothing about a Captain being forbidden to have a relationship, or close interaction with the crew at all. The only thing mentioned was that any relations be developed with an eye toward maintaining objectivity by working out roles between the individuals.

"It was only an interpretation," she whispered.

Chakotay sighed inwardly in relief. She finally realized the truth. "That's right," he told her. He had noticed her somewhat aroused state when he had entered. It was hard not to when he could see her nipples extending out against her robe, and the somewhat flushed look on her face. Leaning forward, he asked what was really on his mind. "So what are you going to do now?"

_**Kathryn's Perspective**_

__Kathryn didn't know how to respond. She had just been confronted with the reality that something that she had always disagreed with, but followed because she took it on face value that it was fully written out in the regs, was simply one interpretation of the regulations. A particularly unrealistic interpretation at that, she was forced to concede to herself. For the last three years since New Earth she had been constantly shoving her standard speel about protocol down Chakotay's throat, when in fact she could have had him all along. But something clicked in her mind right then, too.

She launched herself up from the chair and confronted him.

"You knew about my plans for tonight," she dared him to deny it.

"You're damn right I did," he shot back, surprising her yet again with his intensity.

While embarrassed that he knew, she couldn't help getting even more aroused. It seemed her Angry Warrior was alive and well after so long of not being around. "How did you find out?" she questioned. She was thinking very carefully how to play this one out since she was also a quick and decisive decision maker. She now knew how she wanted it to end now that her original views were demolished.

"I happened to overhear your little chat with the Doctor yesterday," he told her smugly. "I haven't been trying so hard to get our friendship back to where it was on New Earth to have it all shot down by a hologram who doesn't know shit about regulations."

"You're responsible for the holodeck malfunction," Kathryn shot out in a moment of clarity.

"Let's just say I had a friendly little discussion with Paris and offered a suggestion," he informed her. "I also had a talk with the Doctor about sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong."

Kathryn could well imagine what those talks were like considering how worked up he was right now. Tom had probably ran to the holodeck and shorted out the system within minutes of Chakotay leaving him. Inside Kathryn was smiling. Her Angry Warrior was back, and she was loving it. That didn't mean that he could just waltz in here like he was in charge. She was the Captain, after all. Some serious punishment had to be meted out. But first things first.

She poked him in the chest. "Let's get one thing straight, Mister," she said firmly. "I don't care what is happening. Don't you ever come in to my quarters and presume to interfere with my personal plans ever again. I had every right to make the plans I made, whether you liked it or not."

Chakotay stiffened at her tone. He was not only very upset at her over five years of bullshit, but he was also angry that she had not discussed this with him at the least. She had to know what such a change in her behavior would mean to him. But he could accept that as a person she needed her privacy. To a point.

"I won't interfere in your quarters ever again," he told her with a glint in his eyes. The distinction between not interfering at all, and what he had said was obvious as hell.

"Then I guess I'll just have to include you in my plans," she said with a sultry voice. Grabbing the front of his shirt in both hands firmly, she pulled him down for a searing kiss. Her views of the regs had been the only thing holding her back from a relationship with him, so she felt justified in reversing course once she knew that she had been wrong. Releasing him, she smiled and then yanked the shirt open hard, ripping it down the front all the way down the middle. She pushed the ripped shirt over his shoulders and yanked it down, fully revealing his golden chest in all its glory. "I think you'll do, but you better have a lot of stamina, Mister. You have five years of me being celibate to make up for. Or should I just have my fun with a hologram?"

_**Chakotay's Perspective**_

__She'd challenged him! He couldn't believe it. He had expected a bit of indecision and maybe having to wait a while before working their way to the really important stuff, but she had practically ripped his clothes off and challenged his stamina. That was a challenge he was happily meeting head on.

They had finally made it to the bed after three unsuccessful tries during which he had taken her bent over her desk, then on the floor in the living room, and finally against the door frame of her bedroom. That last one had been all her as she had practically slammed him against the wall and told him to fuck her senseless against the door frame. He couldn't vouch for how comfortable it was for her back that way, but he was not about to complain. If she wanted it, then she was going to get it. No way in hell was he going to be compared negatively to a fucking hologram, even though she hadn't done anything with the damn thing.

Now after a long, and sinfully sensuous shower, they were on her bed and he was playing with every square inch of her body with his fingers, lips, and tongue trying to drive her insane. He'd been at it for just over an hour and she had been incoherent for about half of that, just babbling on as she guided him where she wanted some attention.

As passionate as she was in everything else, he shouldn't have been surprised at how voracious and demanding she was in bed. She gave as good as she got, though. If he'd ever had any doubts about her in that department, they were definitely erased after this night. Finally he sensed a change and knew that she was reached her limit. Her whole body which had been tense and on edge for one last orgasm, went limp and her breathing changed. Moving himself up the bed he laid beside her, turned on one elbow looking down at her.

"How's my stamina?" he teased when she opened her eyes to look up at him.

"You'll do," she chuckled as she teased him back. "I won't be able to move for a week!"

"Tell me about it," Chakotay said with a smile. Then he got serious for a moment. "So this is a new course for us?"

Kathryn looked up at him again. "I never agreed with those stupid regulations, Chakotay," she told him softly, and a bit hoarsely. Screaming in ecstasy for as long as she had that night did that to a person. Thank God for the somewhat adequate soundproofing. She wasn't sure about the wall between their bathrooms, though. "I followed that line since I thought that was what was written. You know how I am."

"I do," he said. He didn't catch the double meaning his words could have.

She raised a brow at him. "We'll discuss that idea at a later date. It's a bit soon, yet," she said. She didn't have to wait long before she knew if he had twigged on to what she had meant.

Chakotay caught it after a second. His jaw dropped a centimeter or so in shock. "But you'll let me know when we can discuss it?" he asked hopefully.

"Definitely," she said with a yawn. "Now get comfortable so we can get some sleep. You're going to need your strength in the morning. I love sex when I wake up."

"I've created a monster," Chakotay chuckled as he settled himself down on his back with her firmly at his side with her head on his chest.

"You have no idea," he heard her say dreamily as she fell asleep.

Chakotay fell asleep a moment later after making a mental note to himself to thank the Doctor for being such a fucking idiot in talking to Kathryn the day before. It had caused Chakotay to reverse course on his life and now he had his Woman Warrior right where he wanted, and she had her Angry Warrior right where she wanted him, it seemed. The smile on his face as he was asleep said it all.


End file.
